Securing the Fame of a Digital Age.
This is a bold move by the Delhi High Court in ensuring that the right of the Bollywood famous is not violated by unauthorized usage of their image. In the recent past, actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and filmmaker Karan Johar have sought protection in court to stop the use of their names, images, and voices to make AI-generated content and commercial merchandise. This is indicative of an increasing judicial awareness of personality rights, in the wake of new technologies, where creativity and exploitation begin to mingle.
What Are Personality Rights?
Personality rights protect against commercial exploitation of the identity of an individual, that is, name, image, voice, signature, and likeness, used without permission. These protections derive under common law as privacy, defamation and publicity rights, although there is no dedicated privacy law in India. Injunctions, takedowns or damages are often intervened by courts to prevent abuse. Such cases also have limited protection under the intellectual property laws such as the Copyright Act,1957 and the Trade Marks Act,1999.
Law and Cases.
In R. Rajagopal v., 1994, the Supreme Court made a decision. The right to control personal identity under Article 21 (Right to Privacy) was recognised by the State of Tamil Nadu. Subsequently the Madras High Court granted the rights of actor Rajinikanth and held that false use of his name or style did not have to prove deception, but identifiability was sufficient.
Addressing AI and Digital Misuse.
There has been an escalating crisis of deepfakes and voice cloning. Courts have provided blanket cover to celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Arijit Singh against misrepresentations by AI. Judges have stressed that this misuse not only harms the brand of a celebrity, but is also a violation of dignity.
Free Expression/Personality Rights.
Courts take care to set a balance between personality rights and the freedom of expression provided in Article 19(1)(a). Criticism, satire, parody and pieces of art are safe. Some of the rulings such as DM Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. v. Baby Gift House show that the rights are not violated by public domain and non-commercial use.
The Road Ahead
Analysts emphasize that the law on personality rights should be in a holistic manner as opposed to the disjointed judicial treatment. This type of legislation may establish clear boundaries, protect the creative freedom, and provide protection to common citizens who fall victims of AI abuses, deepfakes, and online bullying.